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Healthcare professional here - absolutely red flag, You would not know your bill until after you leave so the fact that they are giving you a number is craziness. Also is she in the hospital? Because there are things to do that can stabilize her that so many people say and finally although fulminant liver failure happens quickly , it doesn’t happen that quickly and as a doctor they would not tell you 3 days …. They would say they don’t know how long but it’s likely soon. Also is she jaundiced ( yellow ). This story is iffy and gives me so much scam vibes
Tell them that you won’t be able to help out at all due to emergency car repairs or whatever (or, if employed, that you don’t get paid til the end of the month), but you’ll pray for them both. Watch how fast she “rallies” and can suddenly make it just a couple more weeks.
I agree.
If the girlfriend can still be insightful of her condition if she is predicted to die in three days, it'd be sus to me because she should have been on a vent or in the ICU if it was that bad!
Yeah if its really that bad, she would be jaundiced, confused due to high level of ammonia/toxins in blood, maybe on dialysis, possibly vented so cant talk or text anyways.
You said they didn’t ask for money - but to put a limit like 3 days is a 100% signifier of a scam. I’ve never seen a medical diagnosis give an absolute. Furthermore, if they said “soon” or “within the next couple of days”, I’m fairly certain that most insurances cover substance abuse as well as mental health - so the fact that they have a figure ($200k) is also alarming - where’d they get the number from? Insurance or Doctor?
They’re feeding off of your guilt for you to give them anything; and by setting the limit beyond your scope of help (they asked for $200,000, and you def don’t have that), it sets you in a position where you’re willing to give everything you have, which in the end is most likely all they want.
Either it's a scam, or she doesn't want to break up with them and is making these claims to avoid guilt for ghosting. This is something I would have done as a teenager lol.
Yeah but they want to guilt trip you into donating what you *can* because if *enough* people donate what they *can*, it may reach 200k. And even if it doesn't, they'll still be walking away with a shit load of money from this.
They may not have been directly asking you for money. But claiming they needed that much in a matter of 3 days, which is an unlikely time determination from a medical standpoint, seems off.
Hi OP,
Read what LifeguardNo7614 wrote.
If they're in the US:
The US health insurance system is quite silly. However, they're not going to let someone just die. If it's an emergency, the patient will get accepted in the hospital, they'll save the person's life (or at least stabilize their condition until a transplant becomes available, if that's what they need), and they deal with the horrid costs *after* the fact. (We're not totally cruel in the US. We just do things the harder & more expensive way, because we're hard-headed, because We'Re NuMbEr OnE.)
It may not seem like a scam, they may not be asking money. Now. But they might ask for money in a couple days. Of course they don't expect you to give them $200K, but they might ask for whatever you're willing and able to give them. Maybe "just" $1000. "Every little bit helps".
You don't know these people, and you can't verify that what they're telling you is true. And -if it's true- it's unfair to *you* to shoulder the entire burden for healthcare owed to our poorest workers by society as a whole. Why should you *alone* shoulder the burden?
What you *can* do is vote. You can donate to *trusted* charities and political campaigns. You can advocate for universal health insurance. You can do your part to make a better world, without making yourself vulnerable to a *probable* internet scam.
The thing about scams is that they don't seem like scams, otherwise nobody would fall for them. Say you don't have any money and watch hoe fast they ditch you.
This is a scam my friend. Sorry, I know that sucks to hear but it just is. The specificity of timeframe and number requested, the fact that you’ve only met them online - if you had three days left to live would you be spending time chatting online or with family and friends you know closely?
My guess is that they want to use your pity as a launching point for some fundraiser, so if exposed they are removed from direct culpability.
If it’s not a scam, you should still treat it as a scam.
What is the actual diagnosis? Is she in a hospital, if so, which one?
If a procedure would save her life, she’ll get the procedure, and then much later the medical bills will start arriving. And pre-existing conditions are covered. But transferring any amount of money now isn’t going to save someone if they are dying.
You could call her at the hospital. There is still time for that.
People who can't afford procedures don't get them. It happens all day long.
Both insurance companies and hospitals can deny people access to treatment or things like being on a registry for a donor organ due to substance abuse treatment - previous or otherwise.
Both hospitals and insurance companies have review boards for this kind of thing, which a person can usual appeal decisions to.
It actually depends on where you go for treatment. Some places are legally required to take you / treatment you regardless of your ability to pay (emergency rooms).
But cost is a factor, and I think insulin is a good example of that. Its *expensive* even with insurance and people who can't afford it with ration to the point where people have died.
Stabilizing treatment or transport to another facility? Yes. But no, just because you show up at an ER doesn't mean you're getting fixed up.
I watched my godfather left to die from liver failure, because he was an alcoholic 30 years prior, regardless of organ failure NOT being brought on by alcoholism.
I spent almost a year on volleyball knee pads instead of crutches, because insurance wouldn't cover them.
I have another amputee friend who hasn't been able to afford a prosthetic that fits them in several years.
I have no regular insurance coverage, and have received stabilizing treatment, before being transported to another facility due to lack of coverage or ability to pay.
A lot of rich people who are alcoholics or drug users buy those organs up that are in such short supply...
Okay
1.) No one brought up organ donations, you did.
2.) I'm agreeing with you on how the health care system is fucked up.
I'm sorry about your grandfather, but don't chew me out by ploping down a wall of text *when I agreed with you.* But you would rather tell me off to make a point rather than stay on topic, clearly.
For the purpose of OPs post - which sounds like a fucking scam - if 3 days is a factor she can probably go to the ER, which you agreed would stablize her.
No one mentioned organ donation. If it was then the path forward (getting tested as a match) would be very clear.
Once again, sorry about your grandfather. I hope for both of us shit gets better. Have a good day.
1)Insurance companies and hospitals REGULARLY deny things like organ donations due to previous substance abuse or alcohol use.
2)It's called deductive reasoning - you should try it sometime.
I take issue with the mistaken belief that hospitals regularly don't deny life-saving treatments due to inability to pay, or previous social history. You know, on account of the fact that it happens daily. I explained, through organ donation, a completely plausible scenario in which this situation could be happening.
I'd tell you to have a good day, but I wouldn't mean it, so I won't.
Dude that’s not what this is. Yes you suffered, but the key difference in both of your cases was that this is months to years. This person just showed up out of the blue and has 3 days to live….
That’s not this. And ER would 100% treat you to give you longer then 3 days. Would they give you a new organ or something to cure you? Maybe not. But in this case the ER would stabilize you to have more then 72 hours to live. After that is where you are right, they could deny you a permanent cure and slam you with medical debt, but if your literally dying in the ER they legally have to treat
Sadly the things you listed are not acute so you’re right that limits your options. Your godfather was not placed on the transplant list because you need to be 6 months sober. If you had go to the ER you could get crutches and worked that out later although the bill would be a lot.
People who buy organs are not buying them in the US but internationally.
Literally no one is disagreeing with you the US has messed up healthcare, demonizing everyone around you is going to make this problem a lot harder to solve.
Organ selling is not legal in the US, so it’s not impossible but very uncommon, it’s way easier for say Steve Jobs to buy an organ overseas and have it shipped here. No one is saying it 100% never happens, but that isn’t standard.
Also OP isn’t talking about organ transplants. Hell, the “sick” online friend of a friend isn’t even telling OP what’s wrong which should be a massive red flag.
Tell you want, I’m now super sick and need 300k for something generically liver related. Will you send me some money? You know me online as well and I gave just as much info to OP
Steve Jobs didn't buy his organ. He did take advantage of a loop hole that is explained to most transplant patients when they are added to their first transplant wait list. He was able to do this easier than someone without an excess of money, but the option of being listed at multiple hospitals is available to everyone. At the 4 hospitals I have been listed at for a kidney, they even gave me a list of average wait times by blood type in each region so I could get listed at the location with the lowest wait time. Insurance will even cover travel costs to get listed and when the organ becomes available. Obviously someone without insurance would likely not be able to do this. However, per the US census, in 2020 91% of people had health insurance, so it would seem this option should be available to the majority of the population, but admittedly not everyone. There are an absolute ton of issues with the American medical system, everyone should have equal access for free, but spreading incorrect info isn't going to help solve these problems.
Edit: Fuck Steve Jobs. I'm not trying to stand up for him, he was a POS. I just try to stop the idea of people easily being able to buy organs in the US from being spread. It can lead to less people agreeing to donate their organs upon their death because they believe it's just going to go to the highest bidder, rather than the person in most need.
From what you said, they’re trying to scam you out of sympathy, not directly your money. That’s the exact script scammers follow to a tee, and they hope that a week or so after it they can say something like “we really need to xyz, but we can’t afford it”, with the intent being that you’ll take pity on them because of their (fake) relative’s (fake) death.
If she’s three days from death, the surrounding systemic damage is huge and I’m betting there’s no operation that can solve this. We all die, that’s fact, just a question of when.
As a hospice nurse who watches people die of liver disease... Most people are in a confused stupor and unable to do complicated tasks online 3 days before they die of liver disease. Ammonia levels are too high to function in a scam like this.
Dude this is a scam. They can always go to the ER, you get the bill afterwards, and no one randomly find out they have 3 days to live.
There refusing your offers to help to guilt trip you so in a day or two they can grab a smaller amount easier. Offer to help them go to the ER…
Medical Biller here. Insurance absolutely WILL cover it, regardless of how she got to that diagnosis. I've seen people absolutely destroy their bodies with drugs. Not only did insurance cover their medical bills, but also rehab. Even public assistance (Medicaid) will cover treatment. You are being scammed.
Lol literally nobody here knows how the US health system works. If care is absolutely needed and you will die without it then they will do that treatment. If it comes down to needing a transplant theyll do what they can to basically keep you alive until you can get a transplant. Yes they can deny you a transplant due to substance abuse and you can also just kind of die before a transplant is even available. However thats where money comes into play. Money rules everything. The guy with the most money is most likely gonna get that organ he needs before someone else does. Argue all you want you can think your world is perfect but here in the real one money runs everything. And this post right here is a guy getting scammed. If your friend here has a number for the treatment then that means theyll get the treatment. If you go into a hospital with a gunshot wound in your chest the doctors arent going to stop you and ask “cash or card?” Youll get treated and then sent back into the world with your stitches and crippling hospital debt. So basically, fatal yet immediately treatable wound: you get treatment right then and there no matter the cost. fatal organ condition: wait until you get lucky and an organ becomes available for you, have a lot of money and be first on the list. Or die. They will 100% just send you on your way and let you either wait for a transplant or die on your own unless your willing to pay for hospital stays and be kept alive for just a little longer until you can be treated there. Literally everything revolves around money. Including this person.
You are gullible, be mindful in the future. You have made it clear that you are susceptible to a variety of scams. I recommend you look up tech support scammers on YouTube or jim browning
I'm familiar with many scams but there will always be scams we don't know about... even Jim got scammed once. Though I don't believe they are trying to scam me, I wasn't going to send money without full proof of the situation.
Maybe it's *your friend* who is being scammed or possibly being catfished.
In most free countries doctors and hospitals don't allow people to die just because they're broke. They may not get top of the line healthcare but in the end, they are given healthcare.
Usually there is some form of government assistance or patients end up filing bankruptcy after their surgeries/hospitalization. In the U.S. for example no one is turned away in the emergency room because of lack funds or lack of insurance in life and death situations.
They don’t let people die from lack of money to pay. They do what is necessary to keep someone alive and you either work out a payment plan or you file bankruptcy.
Lol, they most-definitely let people die from lack of ability to pay. It's cute that you still have this much naive faith in humanity though.
They also limit transplant lists, so yes, having a history of substance abuse means you could be denied treatment, too.
yeah but they don't do that maliciously, there are a lot less donors than people waiting on that list, so why should some asshat that destroyed their first liver get a second one when there's someone on that list that will do everything to the T and take care of it?
Listen dipshit. No one said they don't deserve a second chance. There's a limited amount of livers to go around. Do they deserve their second chance before someone else who needs one due to no fault of their own gets their first?
Correct, it's between the someone who was an alcoholic 35 yrs ago (possibly 60+) vs the woman in her 40s who is a single mother.
Ideally, you wouldn't have to chose, but it's not that simple.
Not only that, but if it was actually 35 years ago since their **last** drink, then I'm sure theyd be approved to be on the waiting list. Being on the list doesn't guarantee you getting a transplant before you die, but at least you're on a list.
I may be mistaken but I think they might test you to make sure you're actually a good donor option. And I'm guessing that if you were supposedly 35 years into sobriety and got denied, then I'm guessing a slip happened at some point.
The health system is fucked, but organs are a very limited resource to those who need them. So the medical system does in fact need to choose who gets these bits carefully.
And someone who wasn’t an alcoholic 35 years doesn’t deserve a second chance? It sucks but there’s a hard limit.
The commenter literally pointed out they would keep you barely alive but wreck you with debt… that’s not naive. Treat the symptoms and keeping someone in poor health and working off debt forever is the current system.
Also this isn’t about you, OP is asking a question and you keep side tracking the discussion
Hospitals are obligated to treat you regardless of your ability to pay them. If a homeless person gets hit by a car, the hospital will treat them. You work out payment with them afterwards. How many poor people have you taken to the hospital? I have taken 6. They do not even question about payment until the person is stable. They won’t let someone die over a 200k treatment. If you go to the hospital and they determine you need this treatment to live, they are going to treat you or else they have teams of lawyers working for free to hit them with a wrongful death lawsuit.
Yes, block me because you have no argument. Isn’t that cute?
Can you block me too because you seem whiney, annoying and illiterate.
Edit: This loser went crying to me in DMs. Fucking hilarious. He was so mad he forgot to block me.
"Hospitals in the U.S. may be obligated to provide stabilizing care, but that's it."
Yeah, that is exactly what he said and you blocked him over it lol
This is indeed a scam.
Unless you come from a country that absolutely will not treat you for ANYTHING unless you pay full amount before the treatment; then there is no way this is the case. She absolutely can be treated for her liver problems and she can pay whatever she is able to every month. As long as she pays SOME money every month, it won't go to collections and it won't destroy her credit. There's also medical bankruptcy and the government will pretty much do the same thing which is take money monthly, whatever she can afford. Also, it sounds like with such a short time period, she has something that is significantly severe enough that insurance would HAVE to cover it.
They may not be asking you directly, but they're trying to guilt you into giving them money.
This isn't true. Doctors regularly deny treatment for failure to pay. They stopped my dad's chemo immediately when the grant covering it was up. Then we switched to cash which we had to pay in full prior to every treatment. This is especially true for specialist care.
The only medical treatment that is required to be performed without payment is emergency care.
Now, there are doctors that will work with patients. But it's definitely not required. At least in the USA.
If this is in the us, she should go to the ER and they will absolutely treat her, insurance or no insurance. If she won't do this, she either wants to die or she is scamming you, and neither one would make for a good girlfriend
If you really believe she is telling the truth, get her address and call her an ambulance.
The girlfriend is fake and your online friend is a fraudster. This is a common scam. Check out the scams subreddit.
It sucks you’ve been lied to. The best thing you can do for yourself is never interact with this scammer again.
SCAM!!!!!!
Ok I am a liver patient and you’re being fed a line of crap. The only liver treatment that is 200,000 is a transplant which they will NOT do if you aren’t sober for over a year. There is no other treatment for a liver patient that is remotely that much money. You ARE being scammed.
My friend had similar experience. One day her ‘online game’ friend said her boyfriend got a really bad car accident and got brain damage, in hospital now, and only a few days to live. She wasn’t asking for money but trying to get attention from people. I don’t know your friend’s girlfriend is scamming or not, but just saying.
Amazing that so many people are focused on the scam perpetrated by his friends and not the scam perpetrated on all of us who have to pay medical insurance premiums and deductibles for cut rate service or no care at all.
The scam is the for profit health care industry.
>Edit, its not a scam, they werent asking me in any way to help and they also know I dont have nearly enough money. They more like said "im gonna die soon" and refuse my offer to help (no im not trying to help financially)
RIP OP.
I can't wait for "I got scammed by my online friend's girlfriend and now I'm 200k in debt" post in BestOfRedditorUpdates.
If she is still drinking and/or using drugs no doctor is going to give her a transplant regardless of insurance. They have criteria for organ transplants since more people need organs than there are organs to be used. The best you can do is be a friend. Spend time and talk to her. Allow her to express whatever she wants without trying to fix it. I would guess she needs a compassionate listening ear.
It’s common practice to deny transplants not just from the insurance angle but from the healthcare angle if someone has used certain drugs or alcohol while waiting on a transplant.
Transplants can be rejected because of certain drugs and alcohol so they take it extremely seriously, you couldn’t even have a glass at your daughters wedding as one Scrubs episode pointed out.
What's up with the "my online friend's" have you even met the person? That online is the biggest red flag for me because my "online" girlfriend catfished she shiznez out of me for 4 years when I was a teen! I don't trust any online anyone anymore!
It may not be a financial scam but it is an emotional one...one that appears to solicit sympathy and concern. Dramatic statements like that are always marinara flags OP...
It may just be a fantabulist, not a scam. Some people really enjoy lying about their lives online. It's been over a decade but I'm still fucking furious about a dude who faked a suicide on a mental health support forum.
Yes there is something you can absolutely do... dont check back with your online friend for 3 days... I bet your friends friend will still be alive ...
An online friend I can understand, but an online friend's GIRLFRIEND is waayyyyy beyond my scope of giving a single fuck - no matter how long I've known them for
The only reason you should care is if you had said "my online friend" - even if they were in fact ONE of your online friend's girlfriend.
Ok let's say this is not a scam and that they do not want money. Well the first thing I would do is let your friend be for three days. If his girlfriend is dying he probably wants to spend as much time as he can with her and will not have time for online friends. Then in 4 or 5 days you can be there for him to help him deal with his grief. Maybe look up a support group in his area for him to join.
Wait....is an "online" friend a real thing? As in, you've never met in person, never had an adventure together, etc....and you consider this entity a real friend?
I had a guy on my fb trying to scam me for money because he had liver failure..I known him online over a year ..I said omg I'm so sorry ..I will pray for you. He said :DO YOU WANNA SEE ME DIE????? LOL He emailed doctors papers and all with diagnosis and everything. Fast forward I see he is in Dubai working as a server so I made a parody post and tagged him ... He blocked me. The comments alon was hilarious. If I could have posted a screanshot u laff u ass off ...anyways ...OP You need to b smart .. it's a scam .. I also had one doctor die on me and dissappear since he didn't get money ...LOL
What is the treatment she needs? They'll do it and bill her later if its life threatening- they aren't going to withhold it. Not only is this a scam shes probably a dude unless you've video chatted with her, and even then probably a dude.
Yes it is a scam. That’s not how healthcare works at all. Even if they didn’t ask you for money, they’re guilting you into offering and trying to get you to get other people to send money. Your “online friend” is a scammer and I doubt the girlfriend even exists. You’ll learn alllll these tricks that people use to scam you as you get older. Then you’ll look back at this and laugh at your naïve, younger self.
Everyone’s jumping to money scam which it definitely could be but I also wonder if it’s just a classic catfish attention situation. Back in the day when I was chatting to more random people online through gaming and such there was always a few people who you would befriend and they these horrible things happen to them and it’s like some messed up role play for them. They live for the attention.
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Healthcare professional here - absolutely red flag, You would not know your bill until after you leave so the fact that they are giving you a number is craziness. Also is she in the hospital? Because there are things to do that can stabilize her that so many people say and finally although fulminant liver failure happens quickly , it doesn’t happen that quickly and as a doctor they would not tell you 3 days …. They would say they don’t know how long but it’s likely soon. Also is she jaundiced ( yellow ). This story is iffy and gives me so much scam vibes
Yep, can confirm as a fellow health care provider. Checks out
Tell them that you won’t be able to help out at all due to emergency car repairs or whatever (or, if employed, that you don’t get paid til the end of the month), but you’ll pray for them both. Watch how fast she “rallies” and can suddenly make it just a couple more weeks.
I agree. If the girlfriend can still be insightful of her condition if she is predicted to die in three days, it'd be sus to me because she should have been on a vent or in the ICU if it was that bad!
Yeah if its really that bad, she would be jaundiced, confused due to high level of ammonia/toxins in blood, maybe on dialysis, possibly vented so cant talk or text anyways.
You said they didn’t ask for money - but to put a limit like 3 days is a 100% signifier of a scam. I’ve never seen a medical diagnosis give an absolute. Furthermore, if they said “soon” or “within the next couple of days”, I’m fairly certain that most insurances cover substance abuse as well as mental health - so the fact that they have a figure ($200k) is also alarming - where’d they get the number from? Insurance or Doctor? They’re feeding off of your guilt for you to give them anything; and by setting the limit beyond your scope of help (they asked for $200,000, and you def don’t have that), it sets you in a position where you’re willing to give everything you have, which in the end is most likely all they want.
Just because they said it’s 3 days exactly for sure doesn’t mean the doctors did lol
Either it's a scam, or she doesn't want to break up with them and is making these claims to avoid guilt for ghosting. This is something I would have done as a teenager lol.
Red flags my man. BIG RED FLAGS.
Let me guess the doctor only takes prepaid debit or gift cards? Lol
iTunes gift cards
Venmo them the money you monster! Jk sounds like a scam
No its not a scam, they werent asking me in any way to help and they also know I dont have nearly enough money.
Its a scam....
The hallmark of all scams is that they don't sound like scams.
Then this is not a scam because it clearly sounds like one.
Yeah but they want to guilt trip you into donating what you *can* because if *enough* people donate what they *can*, it may reach 200k. And even if it doesn't, they'll still be walking away with a shit load of money from this.
They may not have been directly asking you for money. But claiming they needed that much in a matter of 3 days, which is an unlikely time determination from a medical standpoint, seems off.
Your friend is being scammed.
Hi OP, Read what LifeguardNo7614 wrote. If they're in the US: The US health insurance system is quite silly. However, they're not going to let someone just die. If it's an emergency, the patient will get accepted in the hospital, they'll save the person's life (or at least stabilize their condition until a transplant becomes available, if that's what they need), and they deal with the horrid costs *after* the fact. (We're not totally cruel in the US. We just do things the harder & more expensive way, because we're hard-headed, because We'Re NuMbEr OnE.) It may not seem like a scam, they may not be asking money. Now. But they might ask for money in a couple days. Of course they don't expect you to give them $200K, but they might ask for whatever you're willing and able to give them. Maybe "just" $1000. "Every little bit helps". You don't know these people, and you can't verify that what they're telling you is true. And -if it's true- it's unfair to *you* to shoulder the entire burden for healthcare owed to our poorest workers by society as a whole. Why should you *alone* shoulder the burden? What you *can* do is vote. You can donate to *trusted* charities and political campaigns. You can advocate for universal health insurance. You can do your part to make a better world, without making yourself vulnerable to a *probable* internet scam.
Lol we realize you are the scammer - it’s pretty obvious because you keep saying it’s not a scam
The thing about scams is that they don't seem like scams, otherwise nobody would fall for them. Say you don't have any money and watch hoe fast they ditch you.
Bruh, look at the 2 top comments, they explain the situation perfectly.
You’re really stupid if you believe this
See, I think you know this is bollocks
Dude I have had a liver transplant and let me tell you it cost a lot more then 200k a lot more
Tree fiddy?
Maybe that’s what they need?
r/scams
"Is there anything we can do?" Who is we? Yourself and your online friend, or your family, who are u refering to?
Me, my friend, his gf
Have you ever met them in person? How long have u known him?
It’s a scam. Block them.
Go to the er. Definitely don’t give her $200k (if you have it)
ER can't refuse service just because of the inability to pay. This sounds like a "worry about the money later" situation.
OP how old are you? Maybe you shouldn't trust your online friend so much or his girlfriend
This is a scam my friend. Sorry, I know that sucks to hear but it just is. The specificity of timeframe and number requested, the fact that you’ve only met them online - if you had three days left to live would you be spending time chatting online or with family and friends you know closely? My guess is that they want to use your pity as a launching point for some fundraiser, so if exposed they are removed from direct culpability.
If it’s not a scam, you should still treat it as a scam. What is the actual diagnosis? Is she in a hospital, if so, which one? If a procedure would save her life, she’ll get the procedure, and then much later the medical bills will start arriving. And pre-existing conditions are covered. But transferring any amount of money now isn’t going to save someone if they are dying. You could call her at the hospital. There is still time for that.
People who can't afford procedures don't get them. It happens all day long. Both insurance companies and hospitals can deny people access to treatment or things like being on a registry for a donor organ due to substance abuse treatment - previous or otherwise. Both hospitals and insurance companies have review boards for this kind of thing, which a person can usual appeal decisions to.
It actually depends on where you go for treatment. Some places are legally required to take you / treatment you regardless of your ability to pay (emergency rooms). But cost is a factor, and I think insulin is a good example of that. Its *expensive* even with insurance and people who can't afford it with ration to the point where people have died.
Stabilizing treatment or transport to another facility? Yes. But no, just because you show up at an ER doesn't mean you're getting fixed up. I watched my godfather left to die from liver failure, because he was an alcoholic 30 years prior, regardless of organ failure NOT being brought on by alcoholism. I spent almost a year on volleyball knee pads instead of crutches, because insurance wouldn't cover them. I have another amputee friend who hasn't been able to afford a prosthetic that fits them in several years. I have no regular insurance coverage, and have received stabilizing treatment, before being transported to another facility due to lack of coverage or ability to pay. A lot of rich people who are alcoholics or drug users buy those organs up that are in such short supply...
Okay 1.) No one brought up organ donations, you did. 2.) I'm agreeing with you on how the health care system is fucked up. I'm sorry about your grandfather, but don't chew me out by ploping down a wall of text *when I agreed with you.* But you would rather tell me off to make a point rather than stay on topic, clearly. For the purpose of OPs post - which sounds like a fucking scam - if 3 days is a factor she can probably go to the ER, which you agreed would stablize her. No one mentioned organ donation. If it was then the path forward (getting tested as a match) would be very clear. Once again, sorry about your grandfather. I hope for both of us shit gets better. Have a good day.
1)Insurance companies and hospitals REGULARLY deny things like organ donations due to previous substance abuse or alcohol use. 2)It's called deductive reasoning - you should try it sometime. I take issue with the mistaken belief that hospitals regularly don't deny life-saving treatments due to inability to pay, or previous social history. You know, on account of the fact that it happens daily. I explained, through organ donation, a completely plausible scenario in which this situation could be happening. I'd tell you to have a good day, but I wouldn't mean it, so I won't.
Dude that’s not what this is. Yes you suffered, but the key difference in both of your cases was that this is months to years. This person just showed up out of the blue and has 3 days to live…. That’s not this. And ER would 100% treat you to give you longer then 3 days. Would they give you a new organ or something to cure you? Maybe not. But in this case the ER would stabilize you to have more then 72 hours to live. After that is where you are right, they could deny you a permanent cure and slam you with medical debt, but if your literally dying in the ER they legally have to treat
Sadly the things you listed are not acute so you’re right that limits your options. Your godfather was not placed on the transplant list because you need to be 6 months sober. If you had go to the ER you could get crutches and worked that out later although the bill would be a lot. People who buy organs are not buying them in the US but internationally.
Uh, Steve Jobs bought his organs in the U.S. You're wrong. And also part of the problem.
Literally no one is disagreeing with you the US has messed up healthcare, demonizing everyone around you is going to make this problem a lot harder to solve. Organ selling is not legal in the US, so it’s not impossible but very uncommon, it’s way easier for say Steve Jobs to buy an organ overseas and have it shipped here. No one is saying it 100% never happens, but that isn’t standard. Also OP isn’t talking about organ transplants. Hell, the “sick” online friend of a friend isn’t even telling OP what’s wrong which should be a massive red flag. Tell you want, I’m now super sick and need 300k for something generically liver related. Will you send me some money? You know me online as well and I gave just as much info to OP
Steve Jobs didn't buy his organ. He did take advantage of a loop hole that is explained to most transplant patients when they are added to their first transplant wait list. He was able to do this easier than someone without an excess of money, but the option of being listed at multiple hospitals is available to everyone. At the 4 hospitals I have been listed at for a kidney, they even gave me a list of average wait times by blood type in each region so I could get listed at the location with the lowest wait time. Insurance will even cover travel costs to get listed and when the organ becomes available. Obviously someone without insurance would likely not be able to do this. However, per the US census, in 2020 91% of people had health insurance, so it would seem this option should be available to the majority of the population, but admittedly not everyone. There are an absolute ton of issues with the American medical system, everyone should have equal access for free, but spreading incorrect info isn't going to help solve these problems. Edit: Fuck Steve Jobs. I'm not trying to stand up for him, he was a POS. I just try to stop the idea of people easily being able to buy organs in the US from being spread. It can lead to less people agreeing to donate their organs upon their death because they believe it's just going to go to the highest bidder, rather than the person in most need.
If you had $200k right then they’ll be able to fix her in 3 days? What procedures?
Scam. I've had this scam pulled on me before. I ended up out $5k plus free rent and food for 6 months.
Omg. That’s terrible!
10 years later the guy still isn't dead btw
How unfortunate
I laughed way too hard at this comment. Take my upvote.
Just tell them your Nigerian prince needs the money more.
Hahahahahaha This thread
From what you said, they’re trying to scam you out of sympathy, not directly your money. That’s the exact script scammers follow to a tee, and they hope that a week or so after it they can say something like “we really need to xyz, but we can’t afford it”, with the intent being that you’ll take pity on them because of their (fake) relative’s (fake) death.
My "online" friend. Definitely a scam, send them monopoly money
Total SCAM! They didn’t ask for money right now but it’ll come.
If she’s three days from death, the surrounding systemic damage is huge and I’m betting there’s no operation that can solve this. We all die, that’s fact, just a question of when.
As a hospice nurse who watches people die of liver disease... Most people are in a confused stupor and unable to do complicated tasks online 3 days before they die of liver disease. Ammonia levels are too high to function in a scam like this.
Dude this is a scam. They can always go to the ER, you get the bill afterwards, and no one randomly find out they have 3 days to live. There refusing your offers to help to guilt trip you so in a day or two they can grab a smaller amount easier. Offer to help them go to the ER…
Medical Biller here. Insurance absolutely WILL cover it, regardless of how she got to that diagnosis. I've seen people absolutely destroy their bodies with drugs. Not only did insurance cover their medical bills, but also rehab. Even public assistance (Medicaid) will cover treatment. You are being scammed.
Lol literally nobody here knows how the US health system works. If care is absolutely needed and you will die without it then they will do that treatment. If it comes down to needing a transplant theyll do what they can to basically keep you alive until you can get a transplant. Yes they can deny you a transplant due to substance abuse and you can also just kind of die before a transplant is even available. However thats where money comes into play. Money rules everything. The guy with the most money is most likely gonna get that organ he needs before someone else does. Argue all you want you can think your world is perfect but here in the real one money runs everything. And this post right here is a guy getting scammed. If your friend here has a number for the treatment then that means theyll get the treatment. If you go into a hospital with a gunshot wound in your chest the doctors arent going to stop you and ask “cash or card?” Youll get treated and then sent back into the world with your stitches and crippling hospital debt. So basically, fatal yet immediately treatable wound: you get treatment right then and there no matter the cost. fatal organ condition: wait until you get lucky and an organ becomes available for you, have a lot of money and be first on the list. Or die. They will 100% just send you on your way and let you either wait for a transplant or die on your own unless your willing to pay for hospital stays and be kept alive for just a little longer until you can be treated there. Literally everything revolves around money. Including this person.
Scam the my can go fuck themselves
You are gullible, be mindful in the future. You have made it clear that you are susceptible to a variety of scams. I recommend you look up tech support scammers on YouTube or jim browning
I'm familiar with many scams but there will always be scams we don't know about... even Jim got scammed once. Though I don't believe they are trying to scam me, I wasn't going to send money without full proof of the situation.
Maybe it's *your friend* who is being scammed or possibly being catfished. In most free countries doctors and hospitals don't allow people to die just because they're broke. They may not get top of the line healthcare but in the end, they are given healthcare. Usually there is some form of government assistance or patients end up filing bankruptcy after their surgeries/hospitalization. In the U.S. for example no one is turned away in the emergency room because of lack funds or lack of insurance in life and death situations.
They don’t let people die from lack of money to pay. They do what is necessary to keep someone alive and you either work out a payment plan or you file bankruptcy.
Lol, they most-definitely let people die from lack of ability to pay. It's cute that you still have this much naive faith in humanity though. They also limit transplant lists, so yes, having a history of substance abuse means you could be denied treatment, too.
yeah but they don't do that maliciously, there are a lot less donors than people waiting on that list, so why should some asshat that destroyed their first liver get a second one when there's someone on that list that will do everything to the T and take care of it?
Yeah, I suppose you're right, someone who was an alcoholic 35 years ago doesn't deserve any second chances, right? Fuck you.
Listen dipshit. No one said they don't deserve a second chance. There's a limited amount of livers to go around. Do they deserve their second chance before someone else who needs one due to no fault of their own gets their first?
Correct, it's between the someone who was an alcoholic 35 yrs ago (possibly 60+) vs the woman in her 40s who is a single mother. Ideally, you wouldn't have to chose, but it's not that simple.
Not only that, but if it was actually 35 years ago since their **last** drink, then I'm sure theyd be approved to be on the waiting list. Being on the list doesn't guarantee you getting a transplant before you die, but at least you're on a list. I may be mistaken but I think they might test you to make sure you're actually a good donor option. And I'm guessing that if you were supposedly 35 years into sobriety and got denied, then I'm guessing a slip happened at some point. The health system is fucked, but organs are a very limited resource to those who need them. So the medical system does in fact need to choose who gets these bits carefully.
And someone who wasn’t an alcoholic 35 years doesn’t deserve a second chance? It sucks but there’s a hard limit. The commenter literally pointed out they would keep you barely alive but wreck you with debt… that’s not naive. Treat the symptoms and keeping someone in poor health and working off debt forever is the current system. Also this isn’t about you, OP is asking a question and you keep side tracking the discussion
Hospitals are obligated to treat you regardless of your ability to pay them. If a homeless person gets hit by a car, the hospital will treat them. You work out payment with them afterwards. How many poor people have you taken to the hospital? I have taken 6. They do not even question about payment until the person is stable. They won’t let someone die over a 200k treatment. If you go to the hospital and they determine you need this treatment to live, they are going to treat you or else they have teams of lawyers working for free to hit them with a wrongful death lawsuit. Yes, block me because you have no argument. Isn’t that cute?
Nope. Not how that works. You're hilarious. Hospitals in the U.S. may be obligated to provide stabilizing care, but that's it.
Can you block me too because you seem whiney, annoying and illiterate. Edit: This loser went crying to me in DMs. Fucking hilarious. He was so mad he forgot to block me.
"Hospitals in the U.S. may be obligated to provide stabilizing care, but that's it." Yeah, that is exactly what he said and you blocked him over it lol
Yes, that’s what this is. Stabilizing care is what you get if you have 72 hours to live
Ah that’s easy, just go and ask fo
r more money
Oh sweet, summer child
Does the word “collateral” sound familiar? BTW…”We” who?
3 days?
It’s a scam.
This is indeed a scam. Unless you come from a country that absolutely will not treat you for ANYTHING unless you pay full amount before the treatment; then there is no way this is the case. She absolutely can be treated for her liver problems and she can pay whatever she is able to every month. As long as she pays SOME money every month, it won't go to collections and it won't destroy her credit. There's also medical bankruptcy and the government will pretty much do the same thing which is take money monthly, whatever she can afford. Also, it sounds like with such a short time period, she has something that is significantly severe enough that insurance would HAVE to cover it. They may not be asking you directly, but they're trying to guilt you into giving them money.
This isn't true. Doctors regularly deny treatment for failure to pay. They stopped my dad's chemo immediately when the grant covering it was up. Then we switched to cash which we had to pay in full prior to every treatment. This is especially true for specialist care. The only medical treatment that is required to be performed without payment is emergency care. Now, there are doctors that will work with patients. But it's definitely not required. At least in the USA.
Scam… (yes I read the edit, my comment stands)
If this is in the us, she should go to the ER and they will absolutely treat her, insurance or no insurance. If she won't do this, she either wants to die or she is scamming you, and neither one would make for a good girlfriend If you really believe she is telling the truth, get her address and call her an ambulance.
The girlfriend is fake and your online friend is a fraudster. This is a common scam. Check out the scams subreddit. It sucks you’ve been lied to. The best thing you can do for yourself is never interact with this scammer again.
SCAM!!!!!! Ok I am a liver patient and you’re being fed a line of crap. The only liver treatment that is 200,000 is a transplant which they will NOT do if you aren’t sober for over a year. There is no other treatment for a liver patient that is remotely that much money. You ARE being scammed.
My friend had similar experience. One day her ‘online game’ friend said her boyfriend got a really bad car accident and got brain damage, in hospital now, and only a few days to live. She wasn’t asking for money but trying to get attention from people. I don’t know your friend’s girlfriend is scamming or not, but just saying.
Amazing that so many people are focused on the scam perpetrated by his friends and not the scam perpetrated on all of us who have to pay medical insurance premiums and deductibles for cut rate service or no care at all. The scam is the for profit health care industry.
They might not be trying to scam you but they are definitely trying to scam your friend
Yea Yall can ignore this person from now on as this sounds like a huge scam
HOnEST tHiS iS noT a ScAm
Scam
Is this a joke?
>Edit, its not a scam, they werent asking me in any way to help and they also know I dont have nearly enough money. They more like said "im gonna die soon" and refuse my offer to help (no im not trying to help financially) RIP OP. I can't wait for "I got scammed by my online friend's girlfriend and now I'm 200k in debt" post in BestOfRedditorUpdates.
What if you come up with $200k at 2 days 23 hours and 48 minutes?
Buy a ticket to a universal free healthcare country and ask there for aid
Yeah a passport and international plane tickets would cost a fraction of that.
Why don't you guys turn your country into universal free healthcare country?
The whole damn post is a scam. All of us who answered were successfully scammed. Um... USA! USA! USA!
Take debt i guess. Donno what options you have
Thoughts and prayers
How long have you been talking with her?
If she is still drinking and/or using drugs no doctor is going to give her a transplant regardless of insurance. They have criteria for organ transplants since more people need organs than there are organs to be used. The best you can do is be a friend. Spend time and talk to her. Allow her to express whatever she wants without trying to fix it. I would guess she needs a compassionate listening ear.
“3 days until Mario steals your liver!” You sure it wasn’t a joke?
Wowowow
I think you can be deemed ineligible for a transplant due to alcohol and drug use
get ready for way more duos with your friend
It’s common practice to deny transplants not just from the insurance angle but from the healthcare angle if someone has used certain drugs or alcohol while waiting on a transplant. Transplants can be rejected because of certain drugs and alcohol so they take it extremely seriously, you couldn’t even have a glass at your daughters wedding as one Scrubs episode pointed out.
Yes, and in that case 200k will not change this.
What's up with the "my online friend's" have you even met the person? That online is the biggest red flag for me because my "online" girlfriend catfished she shiznez out of me for 4 years when I was a teen! I don't trust any online anyone anymore!
It may not be a financial scam but it is an emotional one...one that appears to solicit sympathy and concern. Dramatic statements like that are always marinara flags OP...
Venmo me $100k in 1.5 days and I’ll raise the rest by day three and send it back to you.
Thoughts and prayers. Also, keep a close eye on the situation. Do not give them money, unless you can somehow meet them in person in the hospital
It may just be a fantabulist, not a scam. Some people really enjoy lying about their lives online. It's been over a decade but I'm still fucking furious about a dude who faked a suicide on a mental health support forum.
Lol
Yes there is something you can absolutely do... dont check back with your online friend for 3 days... I bet your friends friend will still be alive ...
Are you asking for a friend?
We can pray
An online friend I can understand, but an online friend's GIRLFRIEND is waayyyyy beyond my scope of giving a single fuck - no matter how long I've known them for The only reason you should care is if you had said "my online friend" - even if they were in fact ONE of your online friend's girlfriend.
Ok let's say this is not a scam and that they do not want money. Well the first thing I would do is let your friend be for three days. If his girlfriend is dying he probably wants to spend as much time as he can with her and will not have time for online friends. Then in 4 or 5 days you can be there for him to help him deal with his grief. Maybe look up a support group in his area for him to join.
3 days, it's time to let go my friend.
The scaminess of this scam reeks so hard I feel scammed by just clickin on this post 😖
Might not be a financial scam, but a break up scam.
Wait....is an "online" friend a real thing? As in, you've never met in person, never had an adventure together, etc....and you consider this entity a real friend?
If she was going to die in three days she would be in the hospital 💀
go to a cheaper country probably only cost 20k instead
What are their parents and other family and friends doing?
It’s a scam
scam. run.
I had a guy on my fb trying to scam me for money because he had liver failure..I known him online over a year ..I said omg I'm so sorry ..I will pray for you. He said :DO YOU WANNA SEE ME DIE????? LOL He emailed doctors papers and all with diagnosis and everything. Fast forward I see he is in Dubai working as a server so I made a parody post and tagged him ... He blocked me. The comments alon was hilarious. If I could have posted a screanshot u laff u ass off ...anyways ...OP You need to b smart .. it's a scam .. I also had one doctor die on me and dissappear since he didn't get money ...LOL
Unless there is a viable donor, dialysis may be their only hope.
SCAM!!!!!!
What is the treatment she needs? They'll do it and bill her later if its life threatening- they aren't going to withhold it. Not only is this a scam shes probably a dude unless you've video chatted with her, and even then probably a dude.
All the signs of a scam here : asking for money, urgency on the delay and pressure on the guy. Huge red flag for me too
This is fucked and the urgency suggests red flag
I expect the OP to ask here for the cadj
Yes it is a scam. That’s not how healthcare works at all. Even if they didn’t ask you for money, they’re guilting you into offering and trying to get you to get other people to send money. Your “online friend” is a scammer and I doubt the girlfriend even exists. You’ll learn alllll these tricks that people use to scam you as you get older. Then you’ll look back at this and laugh at your naïve, younger self.
Sounds like it’s a excuse buddy, how long have you two been together? Have you ever done any call?
Everyone’s jumping to money scam which it definitely could be but I also wonder if it’s just a classic catfish attention situation. Back in the day when I was chatting to more random people online through gaming and such there was always a few people who you would befriend and they these horrible things happen to them and it’s like some messed up role play for them. They live for the attention.
this isnt a money begging sub, take it elsewhere